NHS weight-loss surgery urged for 800,000 diabetics

Weight-loss surgery could be offered on the NHS to 800,000 Britains with type 2 diabetes under new draft guidance published.

The National Institute
of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says new evidence suggests
interventions such as gastric bands can help diabetics control
their condition and even reverse the diagnosis.

The NHS currently offers bariatric surgery to morbidly obese
people with a BMI of over 40, or over 35 if the person has
another serious condition such as diabetes.

The NICE draft guidance recommends extending this to people with
a BMI of between 30 and 35 who were diagnosed with type 2
diabetes in the last ten years. This could see as many as 800,000
people offered the surgery, according to current figures.

“Updated evidence suggests people who are obese and have been
recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may benefit from weight
loss surgery,” said Mark Baker, director of the Centre for
Clinical Practice at NICE.

“More than half of people who undergo surgery have more
control over their diabetes following surgery and are less likely
to have diabetes related illness; in some cases surgery can even
reverse the diagnosis.”

However, experts warned that bariatric surgeries – including
inserting a gastric band to make the stomach smaller or
conducting a gastric bypass where the digestive system is
re-routed past most of the stomach – were risky.

“Bariatric surgery should only be considered as a last resort
if serious attempts to lose weight have been unsuccessful and if
the person is obese,” said Simon O'Neill, director of health
intelligence at leading charity Diabetes UK.

NHS figures estimate approximately 2.9 million people in the UK
are affected by diabetes, while there are thought to be around
850,000 undiagnosed sufferers.

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood
sugar level to become too high. Type 2 occurs when the body
doesn't produce enough insulin to function properly, or the
body’s cells don't react to insulin. About 90 percent of all
adults in the UK with diabetes have type 2.